38 No. 67 JUSTICE groups can be punished by imprisonment. The same applies where the human dignity of those who belong to a specific group is attacked by insulting, maliciously disparaging or defaming that group. The verbal abuse of individuals may constitute an insult or a case of defamation. This can be punished with a prison sentence of up to one year or with a fine. Denial of the Holocaust and the trivialization or approval of the Nazi regime are sub-categories of incitement to hatred and violence and are also punishable under German law. At my initiative, a legal amendment has been adopted in September, effectively closing a gap in criminal law between the criminal offenses of “incitement to hatred and violence” and “insult.” The initiative for this amendment was triggered by the increasing number of antisemitic emails and letters which have been addressed, among others, to the Central Council of Jews and Jewish congregations and communities. Until now, German criminal law did not provide any sanctions in such cases because the public did not normally become aware of these messages, as they were “only”addressed to an email account or letter box. For this reason, this did not constitute a case of punishable incitement to hatred and violence. Nor could these messages be treated as insults because they disparaged entire groups of people rather than specific individuals. For this reason, it was necessary to act. A new criminal offense called“insults that incite hatred”makes emails, letters and telephone calls which incite hatred now punishable. Since the beginning of 2020, it has also been punishable in Germany to destroy or damage foreign flags at demonstrations. This legal amendment was driven by the burning of Israeli flags at demonstrations in Berlin in connection with the Middle East conflict. Contraventions of criminal law can result not only in fines or prison sentences. They can also lead to the dissolution of assemblies and the banning of associations. Over the past few years, the Federal Government has banned and dissolved several associations and organizations which regularly infringed on criminal law with their antisemitic, racist and neo-Nazi activities, violating the constitutional order of our country. One example of this is the ban on all activities of Hezbollah and its supporters in Germany. This ban provided the basis for the confiscation of Hezbollah’s assets in Germany; the organization is no longer allowed to collect donations or display its symbols. Recently, the parliamentary groups supporting the Federal Government agreed that it will be possible in the future to punish the dissemination of propaganda or the use of symbols of terrorist organizations which are on the so-called EU-terrorism-sanctions list. In the past, this was possible only if the organization in question was subject to an association ban in Germany. It should be noted, however, that some of these organizations are not officially registered in Germany and thus slip through the net. This new provision will, for example, also affect Hamas in the future. Offenses that are relevant under these provisions can also directly affect the residence status of foreign perpetrators because if convicted for such an offense, they may be expelled from Germany. According to another legal amendment adopted by parliament just recently, individuals who have been convicted of an antisemitic offense are to be excluded from naturalization and from obtaining German citizenship, regardless of the penalty imposed. These legal amendments send an important signal that repressive tools can have a preventive effect. Anyone who wants to acquire German citizenship must be aware that in view of our past, hatred against Jews will not be tolerated in this country. n Dr. Felix Klein serves as Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Antisemitism.
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